Whither Restitutional Justice in England and Wales: A Probation Perspective

Source: (1996) Monsey, NY: Criminal Justice Press, pp. 261-270.

In the 1980's a series of mediation and reparation schemes were developed in England by probation services. Recent national probation standards require probation officers be concerned about the impact of the crime on victims including an assessment of the offender's attitude and awareness of the consequence of the offence. The recent victims charter takes probation into new work in terms of a requirement that probation officers make contact with victims to notify victims of parole consideration for any prisoner serving a life sentence. Reparative principles can be built into presentence recommendations in the form of compensation to individual victims or unpaid work for the benefit of the wider community.